Craig Levein has revealed he was ready to quit the Scotland job after only three months in the post.
Levein was appointed as head coach of the national team on December 23, 2009 but his first game was not until March 3, 2010, a home friendly against Czech Republic - who visit Hampden for the crunch Euro 2012 qualifier on Saturday.
However, by that time, the former Hearts, Leicester and Dundee United boss was already thinking about stepping down.
"After three months in this job, I was ready for chucking it," Levein told The Times.
"Back then in the early months of 2010, I felt I was banging my head off a brick wall.
"I didn't feel I was getting there, and there was that initial starvation, after club management, of having precious little contact with players.
"I was fed up, in fact I was demented. I was for resigning.
"But then some games came along, things settled down and today it seems like night and day compared to those times."
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies